NORTH FORK, CA – If your sleep schedule is different on weekends than weekdays, you may be feeling a Monday morning hangover that is not about alcohol.  Social jet lag happens when you stay up late on Friday and Saturday nights to socialize, and then sleep in to catch up.  Just like when you travel across the country, this can wreak havoc on your body’s natural clock.  You’re essentially telling your body you are in a different time zone.

80% of People Have Social Jet Lag

Problematic sleep-wake rhythms occur with irregular work schedules, such as night work and rotational shift work.  This is typically a more severe problem, and these people are known to be at greater risk for many health problems.  Having a different sleep schedule during the week versus weekends affects about 80% of the population to some degree.  This creates a discrepancy between your biological, circadian clock and your social clock (work, school, social and family events).  This is a modern phenomenon aggravated by artificial electrical lighting that allows us to stay up late.

This is called “jet lag” because the physiological effects resemble the jet lag that occurs when traveling to a different time zone.  Another term is “behaviorally induced circadian misalignment”, describing when your lifestyle causes the trouble.  If you normally go to bed at 10pm on weekdays, then stay up until 1am on weekends, you have a 3 hour social jet lag.  Sleep researchers consider 1 hour or more of difference to be meaningful.  The larger the difference, the greater the impacts on health and daytime functioning.

Symptoms of This Circadian Misalignment

Most forms of life, including humans, have an internal body clock that follows a 24 hour rhythm, referred to as the circadian clock.  This system stabilizes many physiological processes, such as sleep, body temperature, heart rate, metabolism, hormones, etc.  It is reset daily by light.  Staying up late confuses your body and brain, causing what is known as “circadian misalignment”.  You might feel sleepy during the day, have difficulty concentrating, experience mood changes (depression and anxiety), notice reduced performance, and simply feel “off” when you have an inconsistent sleep schedule.  Other symptoms include insomnia, early waking, constipation or diarrhea, and an overall feeling of not being well.  When this occurs chronically there is an association with mental health disorders, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer’s, inflammation, metabolic changes, unhealthy eating patterns, and obesity.

What is the Cure?

You may laugh at this, but the cure is to simply stop doing the thing that is causing the problem.  Maintain a healthy, consistent sleep schedule.  Keep the variation less than 1 hour.  Typically we need 8 hours of sleep each night, so don’t complicate the situation with not getting enough.  Ideally, we go to sleep when tired, and wake up naturally without an alarm clock.  This may not be your current schedule on weekdays or weekends, and solving that is a bigger issue than is being addressed here.

When you are trying to get back on track with your dominant sleep schedule, here are a few things that can help you.

• See the sunrise
  • Without glasses or contacts, expose as much skin as possible
• Limit artificial light exposure after dark
  • From lights and from electronic devices
• Exercise
  • Even as little as 10 minutes
• Eat breakfast
  • Within 30 minutes of waking
  • Include at least 30 grams of protein
  • 3 eggs, 4 slices bacon, and 1 cup of raw whole milk
• Eat lunch and dinner at the same time each day
• Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol
• Nap before 2pm if you do

It is always important to practice good sleep hygiene.  Make sure your bed and pillows are comfortable, and all bedding is non-toxic and natural.  Remove all electronics from the bedroom, including TV, electric alarm clocks, computers, and cell phones.  Turn the WiFi off at night.  Keep the room dark, with no artificial light entering.  Most people sleep better when the bedroom is cool, between 60 and 67 degrees F.

What About Daylight Saving Time?

Daylight saving time aggravates social jet lag.  Setting the clock forward one hour in spring and returning to standard time in autumn creates a further discrepancy between social and solar time.  Interestingly, research shows that permanent daylight saving time aggravates social jet lag when compared to permanent standard time.  Research done in Russia also found permanent daylight saving time is associated with increased SAD or seasonal affective disorder.  This is a current hot topic, as the House recently passed a bill (The Sunshine Protection Act) to make daylight saving time permanent.  It will now go to Congress.  This is a very bad idea, and if you are motivated contact your Senators and tell them what you have learned here.  California US Senators are Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff.  If we were to adopt this, some parts of the country would not see the sunrise until 9am in the winter, and many legislators have safety concerns about this.  This was done in the 1970’s and Americans did not like it and it was repealed.  Arizona and Hawaii don’t observe daylight savings time at all.

Read additional articles here:  Focus On Vibrant Health.

Dr. Veronica Tilden can be your ally in having vibrant health.  She uses traditional hands-on osteopathy and helps you take responsibility for your health, guiding you to make better choices in your life.  She brings her 30 years of experience to her hometown at her office in North Fork.  You can find out more and schedule an appointment at DrVeronicaTilden.com.